The Chicago Sun-Times's Doug Padilla reports Chicago White Sox C Sandy Alomar Jr. (groin) would like to play baseball again in 2005, whether it be for the White Sox or someone else. "My plan is to play baseball,'' Alomar said. "I don't know where I'm going to end up. I'm going to be a free agent. I'm planning on being with somebody. If nobody will give me a job, then I'll retire. I'm not planning on hanging 'em up. To me, I'm doing a lot better than some guys backing up out there. I don't know.'':?:

hellenicsoxfan

09-10-2004, 07:10 PM

If he plays next year, hopefully it is with someone else.

The Cheat

09-10-2004, 07:21 PM

Yeah he wants to play next year. He's good and rested; he hasn't played the last two seasons.:D:

A. Cavatica

09-10-2004, 09:02 PM

If he plays next year, hopefully it is with someone else.
Birmingham.

Daver

09-10-2004, 09:06 PM

I would not be adverse to signing him to the league minimum to play one day a week, but call games from the bench the rest of the time.

Brian26

09-10-2004, 09:08 PM

I would not be adverse to signing him to the league minimum to play one day a week, but call games from the bench the rest of the time.
Burke has been calling Buehrle's games.

Daver

09-10-2004, 09:15 PM

Burke has been calling Buehrle's games.
Burke is calling pitches, neither he nor Ben Davis can call a game.

Wealz

09-10-2004, 09:29 PM

No matter how good Alomar is at calling a game that skill isn't worth a roster spot.

Soxzilla

09-10-2004, 09:55 PM

Burke is calling pitches, neither he nor Ben Davis can call a game.
Then they need to learn. We can't afford to give up a roster spot next year if we plan to be anything more than pretenders....

Need I even remind you of the last contreras game where JG had to come out for relief because our bullpen is beat to hell.

Brian26

09-10-2004, 10:00 PM

Burke is calling pitches, neither he nor Ben Davis can call a game.
Neither can Chip Caray, but that's another story. :D:

SomebodyToldMe

09-10-2004, 10:18 PM

Yeah he wants to play next year. He's good and rested; he hasn't played the last two seasons.:D:
Neither can Chip Caray, but that's another story. :D:
ZINGS!

I would be happy if Sandy is on the roster for us next season. He's a second generation Sox player and is a future coach for us and being right there on the team to mentor our younger catchers is worth something. He's not hurt us when he plays and in fact has contributed. As long as that is so, let him play for us.

we can lose his brother anytime.

PaleHoseGeorge

09-11-2004, 10:41 AM

Sandy wants to come back? Fine, make him a coach. He can call the game from the dugout without taking up a roster spot.

Of course if the Sox are so depleted of talent that Alomar constitutes the best option for a reserve catcher, the White Sox are in serious trouble regardless what they do.

Why am I not surprised?
:(:

RKMeibalane

09-11-2004, 11:29 AM

Sandy wants to come back? Fine, make him a coach. He can call the game from the dugout without taking up a roster spot.

Of course if the Sox are so depleted of talent that Alomar constitutes the best option for a reserve catcher, the White Sox are in serious trouble regardless what they do.

Why am I not surprised?
:(:
:reinsy

"We don't have enough money to sign a better catcher, so we'll just have to make due with what we've got."

misty60481

09-11-2004, 12:19 PM

If Sandy wants to try and catch on with another team---let him if we cant contend without him we are in baaaaaaad shape

LuvSox

09-11-2004, 01:00 PM

Why not sign him? Let's face it, this team isn't going anywhere in the next couple of years. If Sandy can help some young pitchers and catchers that's cool.

PaleHoseGeorge

09-11-2004, 01:35 PM

Why not sign him? Let's face it, this team isn't going anywhere in the next couple of years. If Sandy can help some young pitchers and catchers that's cool.Actually I don't think the Sox are that far away, especially with a healthy Frank and healthy Magglio. We need to upgrade at 2-3 positions plus the pitching staff. These are doable things to accomplish for an organization SERIOUS about winning a championship.

Are the Sox serious? Probably not. So what makes any of us think it will change in the next couple of years after we've wasted two more seasons with Sandy Alomar on the roster?

The problem isn't that the Sox aren't serious right now. The problem is that the Sox are NEVER serious... they make endless mistakes to prove how unserious they truly are... like keeping Sandy Alomar on the roster for no good reason.

:angry:

StillMissOzzie

09-11-2004, 06:39 PM

Actually I don't think the Sox are that far away, especially with a healthy Frank and healthy Magglio.
:angry:
You still think that there's a chance that Maggs will be back in 2005? IMHO, that should be in deep pink.

SMO
:gulp:

Daver

09-11-2004, 06:40 PM

You still think that there's a chance that Maggs will be back in 2005? IMHO, that should be in deep pink.

SMO
:gulp:
He may not have much choice at this point.

PaleHoseGeorge

09-11-2004, 07:26 PM

He may not have much choice at this point.
Yup. The free agent riches Maggs was holding out for last winter have dried up. The most he can hope for now is a contract loaded with monster-sized bonus incentives. This is right up Jerry Reinsdorf's alley.

:reinsy
"Don't be afraid, Magglio.... Come into the light."

:hurt :lofton
"Don't do it, Magglio! Don't do it!"

Daver

09-11-2004, 07:34 PM

Yup. The free agent riches Maggs was holding out for last winter have dried up. The most he can hope for now is a contract loaded with monster-sized bonus incentives. This is right up Jerry Reinsdorf's alley.

He'll get at least 14.5 mil in arbitration, unless the Sox are stupid enough not to offer it.

Win1ForMe

09-11-2004, 07:46 PM

He'll get at least 14.5 mil in arbitration, unless the Sox are stupid enough not to offer it.
Huh? What the...?:?: :unsure:

RichFitztightly

09-11-2004, 07:58 PM

Yup. The free agent riches Maggs was holding out for last winter have dried up. The most he can hope for now is a contract loaded with monster-sized bonus incentives. This is right up Jerry Reinsdof's Alley
Agreed, but Reinsdorf is also the type of owner who'd like nothing better than to stick it to somebody he feels is being disloyal. I can very easily see a super low-ball offer where it would be embarrassing for Mags to accept.

RKMeibalane

09-11-2004, 08:04 PM

Agreed, but Reinsdorf is also the type of owner who'd like nothing better than to stick it to somebody he feels is being disloyal. I can very easily see a super low-ball offer where it would be embarrassing for Mags to accept.
I can see that, too, but what's really interesting about this situation is that a low-ball offer may be the best thing Maggs sees the entire off-season. I would imagine that his unusual injury has scared off teams that were interested in him before the season started (Yankees, Cubs, Mets, Padres, etc.).

SEALgep

09-11-2004, 08:08 PM

He'll get at least 14.5 mil in arbitration, unless the Sox are stupid enough not to offer it.I would love to have a healthy Maggs, but I'm not sure I pay that money for a guy who may or may not be healthy next year, or ever.

Daver

09-11-2004, 08:26 PM

I would love to have a healthy Maggs, but I'm not sure I pay that money for a guy who may or may not be healthy next year, or ever.
Well, here are your options.

Let him walk without offering him arbitration, and lose two draft picks because of it.

Offer him arbitration and hope he signs elsewhere.

Offer him arbitration and bite the bullet when the arbitor sets his salary based on his performance this year. Injuries cannot be used against a player in arbitration.

Offer him arbitration only if he agrees to refuse it, which technically is a rules violation, but it has been done in the past. Given his current status I doubt this will happen.

RichFitztightly

09-11-2004, 08:47 PM

I would love to have a healthy Maggs, but I'm not sure I pay that money for a guy who may or may not be healthy next year, or ever.
I don't think this injury will be a big deal at all. Herm Schneider said he would make a complete recovery and have no lingering pain. On top of that, a friend of mine had the same injury while we were in highschool. He came back fine and had no ill-effects because of it.

gosox41

09-13-2004, 10:57 AM

If he plays next year, hopefully it is with someone else.
:KW

Sandy Alomar fits in our plans perfectly next year. We're looking for more washed up veterans that played on a World Series team about 8 years ago. To complement the Alomar Bros, look forward to seeing Mike Jackson, Chad Ogea, and Eric Plunk in the bullpen. Matt Williams will fill out 3B hole nicely and David Justice and Kevin Seitzer will fill nicely replace Lee and Ordonez.

Bob

StillMissOzzie

09-13-2004, 11:52 AM

On top of that, a friend of mine had the same injury while we were in highschool. He came back fine and had no ill-effects because of it.
Can your friend play right field?

SMO
:gulp:

PaleHoseGeorge

09-13-2004, 12:00 PM

Oh, brother... Sandy wants to play next season? Fine. I want to play next season, too. Where do I sign up?

:mad:

:KW
"Sandy is a grinder... of course the grinding is specifically in his knees, but that's a start."

RichFitztightly

09-13-2004, 12:41 PM

Can your friend play right field?

SMO
:gulp:
Oddly enough he got drafted by the Sox. He wasn't a great hitter though. Only lasted a year in low A ball. He was basically Ichiro with a batting average of .091.

The Chicago Sun-Times's Doug Padilla reports Chicago White Sox C Sandy Alomar Jr. (groin) would like to play baseball again in 2005, whether it be for the White Sox or someone else. "My plan is to play baseball,'' Alomar said. "I don't know where I'm going to end up. I'm going to be a free agent. I'm planning on being with somebody. If nobody will give me a job, then I'll retire. I'm not planning on hanging 'em up. To me, I'm doing a lot better than some guys backing up out there. I don't know.''
I would imagine that's it's fairly common for players late in their careers to feel that they still have the ability to play better than many of the younger players. The problem is that the Sox may want to give the slot to a younger player that could develop and might cost less. (That player wouldn't necessarily fill the back-up role; Burke could slide into that, for example.) Happens in business organizations all the time, too, although there are rules on age discrimination that must be considered.

In the Sox case, it seems that the organization values Sandy and would likely want him to coach. Without that, he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance at staying here as a player. But will their loyalty / interest in him as an eventual coach cause them to keep him as a player one more year?

shagar69

09-13-2004, 02:46 PM

alomars a great guy and teammate im sure, but he is DONE! i would make him a coach somewhere in the minors